I’d view this tutorial as a mostly a platform to jump from when learning basic color grading. Granted, I’m not a colorist, for it’s a skill that can only be learned in secret ninja dojos in Southeast Asia… But really, color grading is tough, and that’s why colorists make a whole lot of money. Fortunately, this tutorial (and the others) are targeted at those of us who want a quick fix to get by.

As I said, this is a Final Cut Pro 7 tutorial. However, what I have noticed is that these tutorials tend to go cross-platform. Pick and choose the details that the tutorial provides and adapt them to your own color correction system.

Basically, you’ll learn some of the tips and tricks with the vintage look, but I encourage you to adapt your own methods with this one. As you may know, in order to get a legitimate vintage film look, you should have some film burns or light leaks scattered on the video itself. You can actually download a few free film burns here.

The so-called “blockbuster” style that this tutorial from Digital Cinema Foundry has to offer is an attempt at reaching the quality of most major motion pictures in theaters these days. The focus is moving the shadows towards blues and the highlights towards yellows, and when done properly, the image comes out quite nicely.

I’d compare the color quality to films such as oh… TransformersThe Top 10 Most Pirated Movies Of All TimeThe Top 10 Most Pirated Movies Of All TimeLast week we introduced the top 10 most pirated games of all time as a good indicator of real success. Can the same logic be applied to movies? Will the biggest grossing movies also be...Read More, but without the high contrast or stronger emphasis on yellow. In essence, it’s all about the clash between the yellows and the blues, and the author describes this as being a recent development in film. Now, you can bring it to your own little movies.

The Bleach Bypass Effect

The bleach bypass effect is perfect for war films due to its contrast, but it’s been used in a variety of other ways of well. With that said, Andrew Kramer from Video Copilot has yet another tutorial, and it’s all about the bleach bypass color style. What’s nice about this tutorial is that it’s incredibly easy to use, and you will likely have it done in just a few minutes or less.

Conclusion

Honestly, color grading is still foreign territory for me, and above are just a few things that have helped me out recently. I know that there are lots of color styles out there, and I’d love to get a good look at them.

If you don’t mind, would you tell me some of your favorite color styles? Do you have any good coloring tips?